Dakar is THE international offroad racing event of the year. Nothing thrills me more than New Years Day, since it indicates that start of Dakar is right around the corner.

Dakar veteran Riaan Van Niekerk ripped to a 12th place overall finish on board his Broadlink KTM 450RR, besting his rookie finish of 13th. He had his best stage time on Stage 5, coming in 4th place, against a laundry list of Factory-backed racers. Riaan uses the Mojavi for his practice rides, back home in South Africa. Great Job Riaan!

At the other end of the pack, Luca Viglio, #173, finished 76th aboard his Boano Racing built Beta 450RR Atacama. Boano Racing is our Italian distributor.

Many times during the stages, Luca was faced with challenges that would keep him from finishing. Each time, he dug a bit deeper, or benefitted from the support of his team, locals and other racers, to help get him to the finish. I quoted a few remarks from Luca on ADVrider.com, translated by inmate auguzt. Thanks auguzt for sharing the news of Luca’s progress.